Taiwan's new T-5 Brave Eagle advanced jet trainer makes maiden flight

Taiwan's new T-5 Brave Eagle advanced jet trainer makes maiden flight.

The new T-5 Brave Eagle advanced trainer aircraft developed by Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) made its maiden flight on June 10. The flight took place at the Ching Chuan Kang air base in Taichung together with two Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuos as chase aircraft.

The T-5 Brave Eagle program was born from a joint collaboration between the National Institute of Science and Technology Chung-Shan (NCSIST), the ROCAF and the AIDC.

The $ 2.2 billion program aims to replace ROCAF's AIDC AT-3 Tzu Chung and Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II fleets, which serve as advanced trainers and lead-in fighter trainers (LIFT) respectively.

The design of the T-5 Brave Eagle is based on the two-seater version of the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF).

Compared to the F-CK-1, Brave Eagle has 80% of new components including a more advanced composite and avionics body. It also has higher fuel capacity and is slightly larger than the IDF.

The aircraft is powered by two Honeywell/ITEC F124-200TW turbofan engines without afterburner.

Production of 66 jets for ROCAF is expected to begin in November 2021 and will run for six years.

Written by Matteo Sanzani

Images: Taiwan MND